Next Monday, Aug. 19, all 56 Nassau County public high school football teams will begin preparations for the upcoming season, scheduled to open Thursday, Sept. 12 with most games kicking off at 4:30 p.m. No Saturday games will take place in Week 1 due to Yom Kippur.

Farmingdale, Garden City, Lawrence and Roosevelt are out to defend county championships. Head coach Joe Martillotti’s Golden Tornadoes of Lawrence, seeded at the top of Conference III and led by record-setting quarterback Joe Capobianco and explosive Jordan Fredericks, will attempt to become the first team to win the Rutgers Cup in back-to-back seasons since Hempstead in 1985-86.

Farmingdale is the only defending champ not ranked atop its respective conference. The Dalers, who open with a trip to Plainview, are seeded No. 2 behind Massapequa. Garden City opens at home versus MacArthur, Lawrence travels to Manhasset, while Roosevelt hosts Valley Stream North in a rematch of last year’s Conference IV title game.

The first three days of practice are non-contact, with helmets and cleats the only equipment permitted. Protective pads and blocking devises will be used beginning Monday, and game scrimmages can be held after the completion of 12 practices.

Developmental League continuesFollowing the 2011 season, the executive board and athletic council of Section VIII, Nassau’s governing body approved the creation of a Relief Developmental League in football for two years.

The six public schools — Port Washington, Great Neck North, Great Neck South, Roslyn, Jericho and Friends Academy — that comprised the majority of the league had a combined record of just 5-35 in 2011. Long Island Lutheran and St. Dominic also competed in the newly formed league last year, and results were mixed. Long Island Lutheran and Port Washington set the pace, followed by Jericho.